This intriguing carol was sourced by Vaughan Williams in Hereford and Shropshire 1908-09. Here we have the child Jesus playing ball in the street, the snobbish young rich boys who scorn him, Jesus taking revenge, and his angry mother thrashing him for his sins. The story is found in the Apocryphal Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, and also in a 13th-century English manuscript containing rhymed legends of the life of Jesus. The same story is found on a fresco at the church of San Martino at Lucca in Italy, attesting to its popularity in medieval Europe. The cursing of the willow in the last verse reflects a natural phenomenon: the willow is very prone to “perish at the heart”.
The traditional ballad doesn't have an assigned tune - the words are older than any tune recorded against it. So here we have a tune written by Jon Bennett and arranged by Moonrakers.
20 сен 2024
